Industrial automation is used to control machines and processes in manufacturing. Automated machines commonly control the handling of components, sub-components, and raw materials, perform fabrication processes, testing, product handling, packaging, and shipping. Industrial automation enables precise control of industrial processes, achievement of smaller tolerances and higher quality products, higher production outputs, and increased worker safety and productivity.
Industrial automation environments comprise multiple computerized devices that control industrial machines and industrial processes. The components of an industrial automation environment must work together in a coordinated fashion, performing operations such as exchanging data, controlling the timing and scheduling of processes, providing information to operators or technicians, and receiving operator inputs.
Industrial automation environments commonly include hundreds of machines and other components. Cross-compatibility requirements, the need for system and device instances consistency, and application validation requirements often require users to set large numbers of devices to known firmware revisions. The operation of setting up all of the devices to a known firmware revision is very time consuming. This operation often requires multiple people spending large amounts of time to accomplish the task.